Mackinac Island Mayhem
by Crystal Rosen
Summary: When Skulduggery and Valkyrie are called to Mackinac Island for a "ghost" problem, their quick little trip turns out to be more than what they bargained for.
1. Chapter 1: Apples and Ghosts

"Why exactly are we here? I mean, this isn't exactly up our alley."

"I would consider ghosts up our alley, Valkyrie. Besides, I thought it would be nice to get out and experience the sights and sounds of Mackinac Island."

"Smells is more like it."

The carriage that was carrying Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain tottered up Stonecliffe Road, carrying the duo to Stonecliffe Mansion. Valkyrie sighed and looked out the side of the carriage, deciding to take in the beauty. 'Sure it was be beautiful up here,' Valkyrie thought, 'but she would have much rather been beating up rogue vampires.'

The carriage turned and the smell of apples filled Valkyrie's nose. Apple trees twisted and turned, heavy with apples, grew on each side of the road. Valkyrie smiled. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad.

Then the carriage stopped. Valkyrie turned to see what the reason for their sudden halt was, but saw nothing. The driver clicked for the horses to get up, but they wouldn't budge. In fact, they actually started going backwards. The driver yelled and got is whip out and tapped one of the horses on the rear. This only caused the horses to spook and grunt at the road ahead of them. The driver cursed softly and turned the carriage around. They went back and turned left.

"Sorry about that," the driver called back, "the horses don't like going up that way so we're going to go the back way."

"That's fine," Skulduggery said. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but why don't they?"

The driver chuckled, "Something about a ghost. Supposedly a carriage came up here with a group of tourists and a ghost appeared in front of them and spooked the horses. The horses won't go any further than that spot."

"Any idea who the ghost was?"

"It's supposed to be the ghost of the servant girl that worked here. She committed suicide in the old apple orchard."

"Any reason why she did it?"

"No one knows."

"Hmmm," was all Skulduggery said as he leaned back in his seat.

The carriage turned again and Valkyrie's jaw dropped in awe as the Stonecliffe Mansion came into view.

The carriage pulled around to the front door and Valkyrie jumped off. Skulduggery thanked the driver and tipped him. The driver then went about his way. Valkyrie looked at Skulduggery and smiled. Skulduggery had met with a Necromancer almost a month ago. She apparently was fluent in the area of the undead and offered to him a "realistic illusion". It was an illusion of how Skulduggery looked when he died. Though it may have been an illusion, it was real enough. All his organs and muscles and skin were there, they just didn't work properly. She had told Skulduggery that he would have to "reset", that is, lose the illusion and go back to being a skeleton every so often because his organs would eventually start to decompose from lack of use. Skulduggery had graciously accepted. He didn't tell Valkyrie what she wanted in exchange, but from the way he would divert the topic whenever she brought it up, told her that it was something very unpleasant.

Valkyrie believed, however, that they had got the better end of the deal. After all, thought Valkyrie, he was pretty handsome…

Valkyrie shook her head and followed Skulduggery inside. It was absolutely gorgeous. There was an elaborate staircase that curved around the check out desk and met together at the top. An older looking man came out of one of the doorways and walked over to them.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Pleasant and Miss Cain. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello Mr. Bacon," Skulduggery said, reaching out to shake his hand. Valkyrie bit her lip to keep from laughing.

Mr. Bacon smiled. "I am so glad that you were able to come all this way for me."

"My pleasure," Skulduggery said.

Mr. Bacon sighed. "Normally this wouldn't bother me, but it has gotten to a point where it is scaring my customers away."

Valkyrie looked up at him curiously. "I hope you don't mind me asking because my partner here," Valkyrie turned and glared at Skulduggery, "didn't tell me, but what exactly are we doing?"

Mr. Bacon scratched his head nervously.

"Not here," he whispered, "Let's talk in my office." He led Skulduggery and Valkyrie through the way he came in. Valkyrie looked around. A beautiful study stood off to the right. They walked past an unmarked door and walked through one marked "Offices". Mr. Bacon walked over to his desk, talking out a cream-colored handkerchief and dabbed his near-bald head.

"I am sorry for all the hush-hush, but I do not wish to distress my customers any further." He sat down at his desk and looked up at them. "When I bought this place, the previous owner warned me about a ghost that haunted these grounds."

"The servant girl," Valkyrie said. Mr. Bacon nodded.

"Naturally I shook it off as a hoax to scare me, but then I noticed that weird things had been happening. Doors were opening and closing by themselves, furniture moving around blocking doorways, and guests reportedly seeing a ghostly image of a girl dressed in old servant clothes."

He sighed and dabbed his head again with his handkerchief. "Lately though, these…hauntings have been getting worse, to the point where it's scarring my customers away. That's where you come in," he pointed at Valkyrie, "I need you to find what is making this "ghost" act up and to take care of the matter before it runs me out of business."

Skulduggery took off his hat and ran his fingers through his dark, black hair. "Don't worry sir, you can count on us."

Mr. Bacon nodded, "That's good. Well, I will have someone show you to your room. You will be staying in the servant girl's old room."

Valkyrie shivered. She didn't like the idea of sleeping in the room of a dead person. Mr. Bacon pressed a button on his desk.

"Jack, I need someone to come up and show a couple of guests to their room." He let go of the button and then waited. There was a crackling noise and then a man's voice came on, "Clarabelle's down here, do you want her?"

"Yeah that's fine. Send her to my office please."

He looked up at Skulduggery and Valkyrie. "Your bags should already be in your room." Skulduggery nodded.

The door opened behind them and a young woman walked in. Valkyrie observed her. She was wearing a white blouse with a black vest and a red tie and a short, black skirt and white knee socks with black Mary Jane shoes. She looked like she was the same age as Valkyrie and had blonde hair that came down past her shoulders, but what surprised Valkyrie the most was her eyes. They were a pale blue, almost identical to China's and Mr. Bliss's eyes.

She smiled at them, showing off perfect, pearl white teeth. Valkyrie ran her tongue over her teeth. Even though the cap on her tooth had worn down to fit, it still felt foreign in her mouth.

"Ahh, Clarabelle," Mr. Bacon explained as he got up from his desk, "I need you to escort our guests here to their room. Maplewood, it is." He turned to Skulduggery. "Again, thank you for coming and if you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

Skulduggery shook his hand, "Don't worry, we'll be in touch."

He turned and followed Clarabelle out of the room. Valkyire followed after him. They went back through the hallway. Clarabelle stopped at the information desk and picked up two keys. They walked up the staircase and turned to the right.

The hallway was beautiful. There were huge, wooden doors on either side of the hallway, the walls were crimson red and golden candelabras hung on the wall, pearl white candles placed in each holder and chandeliers hung from the ceiling, illuminating the hallway.

They stopped at a door marked: Maplewood. Clarabelle took out a key and opened the door. Valkyrie gasped in amazement.

There was a huge four-poster bed on the west side of the room. Two huge windows on the north wall let the sun rays illuminate the cream-colored carpet. A beautiful wooden desk and chair were up against the east wall, along with a door, leading to the bathroom. A dresser stood tall against the south wall complete with mirror and chair, right next to the door leading to the closet.

Candelabras like the ones in the hallway hung from the cream colored walls and a chandelier hung from the cream colored ceiling.

"I hope you find the room to your liking," Clarabelle said, giving them her perfect smile. Valkyrie sniffed the air.

"It smells like apples in here," Valkyrie exclaimed.

"Ahh yes…Abigail," Clarabelle sighed.

"Abigail?" asked Skulduggery.

"The servant girl," Clarabelle went on, "This used to be her quarters. The smell of apples is just one of the many reports visitors have made about this room. Many have said they have seen furniture move by itself, sometimes blocking the doorway. Others have even claimed to see Abigail herself." Valkyrie shivered. She was liking this trip less and less.

Clarabelle shook her head and smiled at them again.

"I'm sorry for keeping you from getting settled." She walked over to Skulduggery.

"If you should need assistance in any way possible," looked up at Skulduggery, "Please don't hesitate to ask." She smiled and handed him the keys and walked out of the room. Valkyrie scrunched up her nose.

"I don't like her." Skulduggery looked at her and laughed.


	2. Chapter 2: Knock Please

After settling down in the room, Valkyrie went out exploring. She roamed the third and second floors before heading back down the staircase to the first floor. She looked to her right and saw shelves of books through the doorway. She walked through the doorway and smiled.

There were shelves and shelves of books as far as she could see. She ran her finger across the binding of the books as she walked between the shelves. She saw a book of interest and picked it off the shelf and found a couch and plopped down on it and started reading

About half way through the second chapter, she felt someone sit down next to her. "_And Then There Were None_, good book," Skulduggery said, leaning back and putting his arm on the sofa behind Valkyrie. She closed her book and looked up at him with a scowl.

"Thank you and I would very much appreciate it if you didn't tell me what happens." She leaned back and felt her face turn red as she felt Skulduggery's cold arm on the back of her neck. She hoped he didn't notice.

"Anyways," she said, trying to hide her face, "What are you doing?" Skulduggery chuckled.

"Trying to find out what happened to my partner." Valkyrie laughed.

"I went out exploring and I found myself in here."

"I had figured as much."

"So have you found anything out?"

"I was just going to ask you the same thing."

"Well, sitting here isn't going to get us anywhere."

"Well, what if I like sitting here though?" Valkyrie felt her face burn and her heart skip a beat. She tried to shake the feeling away.

"But it's still getting us nowhere."

"You're right." Skulduggery got up and straightened out his elaborate dark suit. "Maybe I'll go question the staff to see if they have had any experiences with the ghost."

Valkyrie felt her heart sink. That meant he would most likely be talking to Clarabelle. Valkyrie tried to not to show her sadness.

"Well I guess I'll stay here and see what I can dig up," she said, trying to get comfy again, but couldn't.

Skulduggery nodded. "I guess I'll meet you back in the room later then."

"Alright then."

Skulduggery turned and walked toward the doorway. Valkyrie watched him walk away and felt her heart melt. He stopped and turned to look at Valkyrie.

"By the way," Skulduggery said, smiling, "The lawyer did it." Then he ran out the door.

"Skulduggery," Valkyrie moaned and slammed her book against her head.

* * *

Valkyrie tried to continue reading, but couldn't. After a couple of minutes struggling with herself, she got up and put the book away, then headed back to the room. When she reached the second floor, she could hear muffled voices off to her left, around the corner that sounded vaguely familiar. When she peeked around the corner, she could see Skulduggery and Clarabelle standing at the end of the hallway. Valkyrie couldn't understand what they were saying, but she could hear Clarabelle giggling like a little girl. Valkyrie felt the anger rise up in her and her hands clench up.

"You nasty little wench," Valkyrie hissed through clenched teeth. She then sighed and decided that glaring at the back of Clarabelle's head wasn't making her feel any better. She slowly walked up the rest of the way to her room. When she got there, she shed her ebony black jacket that Ghastly had made for her before she left and threw it in one of the chairs. She then kicked off her thick, heavy boots and set them at the foot of the bed. She then slipped out of her black trousers and took off her black sleeveless tunic, throwing them on the end of the bed.

She walked over to her brown, leather suitcase and opened it. She pulled out a small tank top and slipped it on. It was too small for her and it cut down too low for her liking, but she liked to wear while she was bumming around.

Feeling too lazy to dig through her suitcase to find her shorts, she grabbed her phone and her sketchbook and laid out on the bed. She checked her phone to see if anyone had called or texted her, but no one did. She opened her sketchbook and flipped through it.

Recently, she had taken up drawing as a hobby. She had originally taken it up because Skulduggery had been making her draw quick sketches of crime scences.

Apparently, she was lacking skills in art department so much that Skulduggery had forced her to somehow improve her art skills to a point to where he could at least distinguish different objects in her drawings. So she checked out some art books from the library and found that she quite enjoyed it and soon became fairly good at it. She had bought a sketchbook that she took everywhere with her.

That was when she really started to develop a "feeling" for Skulduggery. She had told him that she needed to practice drawing and needed a model. He had reluctantly agreed. The first couple of drawings were simply of him sitting in the car or talking to someone.

But Valkyrie had soon found herself drawing all kinds of pictures of him any time she could and found herself flipping back through her drawings, starring at them with longing. And when she saw him how he used to look, her heart had just about melted and she had wasted no time in drawing him.

She continued to flip through the pages, reminiscing, until she heard a soft click and the door swung open and Skulduggery walked through.

Valkyire slammed her sketchbook shut and grabbed a pillow and threw it at Skulduggery. It hit him square in the head and knocked his hat off his head.

"Hey!" he yelled, as he bent down to pick up his hat.

"You could have had the decency to knock," Valkyrie yelled, as she got up and threw her sketchbook in her suitcase and stood with her hands across her chest. Skulduggery picked up his hat and put it back on his head and turned to look at Valkyrie.

"Well, I didn't..." he stopped and swallowed hard when he saw what she was wearing. Valkyrie could feel her face go red as she watched Skulduggery's eyes scan her up and down.

"I would really appreciate it if you would stop gawking at me," she said, shaking her head. 'Please don't stop,' her brain cried, but she ignored it.

Skulduggery shook his head and turned to close the door. Valkyrie rolled her eyes and dug through her suitcase and pulled out a pair of shorts and a hooded sweatshirt and put them on. She turned to look at Skulduggery who was leaning against the doorway.

"So did you find anything out?" Valkyrie asked, a little sourly.

"Yes I did actually," he said, standing straight and starting to walk toward her, "And we're going to see him, so put some clothes on and let's go."

Skulduggery stopped about an inch from her face. Valkyrie rolled her eyes and laughed softly.

"Alright let's go."


	3. Chapter 3: Midnight Kiss

The staff room was quite elaborate. There were several large, comfy sofas and small, handcrafted end tables. The room smelled of coffee.

A man about in his forties was sitting in one of the sofas, reading a magazine. Skulduggery and Valkyrie walked up to him and sat down on the sofa across from him.

"Mr. Pulgrett?" Skulduggery asked. The man looked up from his magazine.

"Who wants to know?" he said. He sounded like his nose was plugged.

"Skulduggery Pleasant and Valkyrie Cain, we would like to ask you a couple of questions about…"

"If this about that accident with the coffee on the second floor, I'll let you know I…"

"No, no it's nothing about that."

Mr. Pulgrett looked at them with curiosity.

"What then?"

"The servant girl's ghost," Valkyrie said quickly as Skulduggery just began to open his mouth. He turned and looked at her, then shook his head and turned back to Mr. Pulgrett.

"What about it?" Mr. Pulgrett asked.

"I was informed that you had a recent encounter with her and we would like to know more about it," Skulduggery said. Mr. Pulgrett gave him a sour look.

"Fine," he spat, "I was working on the third floor and I saw a young girl in old maid clothes. She was walking away from me, sticking her head in each of the rooms. I thought she was looking for trouble, so I called out to her. She turned around and looked at me, then disappeared."

"Did anything else happen?"

"No, that was it."

"When was this?"

"Last week."

"Where exactly were you?"

"Well, I went to go investigate where she had gone to and she had disappeared in front of the room Maplewood. I checked the room but it was empty."

Valkyrie shivered. "Well, thank you for your time," Skulduggery said as he stood up. Valkyrie followed suit.

"Yep," Mr. Pulgrett said going back to his magazine. Valkyrie followed Skulduggery out the staffroom and up the staircase.

At the top, Valkyrie asked what she had been dieing to ask.

"Who told you?"

Skulduggery looked at her. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I'm just curious."

"Well you're just going to have to stay that way."

"It was Clarabelle, wasn't it?"

"What makes you think that?"

"I saw you talking to her."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, I was wondering if giggling like a little school girl was part of your questioning?" They reached the third floor and walked toward their room.

"No, she just finds me hilarious." He took the key out and unlocked the door. "I think I'm hilarious," Skulduggery said as he turned the door handle and then-BANG-walked right into the door.

"What the hell!?" he yelled, rubbing his forehead. Valkyrie fell to the floor, laughing. "Yeah, you're hilarious alright," she said, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Skulduggery glared at her and tried to open the door again. He finally got the door open enough for them to slip through.

Once through, they could see what was blocking the door. The dresser was pushed up against the door, as if someone was trying to keep them out. Skulduggery tried to move the dresser back to its original spot, but it barely budged.

"Damn, that thing is heavy," Skulduggery panted, sliding to the floor. Valkyrie shook her head.

"You wuss. Here, let me help you," she said walking up to him. She pulled him up and looked down at her feet when she realized how close they were. She went around to the other side of the dresser.

"Alright, on the count of three," Skulduggery said, readying himself. Valkyrie nodded.

"Alright, one…two…three!" Valkyrie lifted with all her might, but the dresser only lifted about half an inch off the ground.

"Put it down!" Skulduggery yelped. They dropped the dresser and leaned against it, panting.

"I told you…it was…heavy!" Skulduggery panted.

"Maybe…we can…push it," Valkyrie gasped. Skulduggery nodded. Valkyrie walked over to the other side.

"Alright," she said, readying herself, "Push!"

She threw her weight into it. After about fifteen minutes of pushing, they finally cleared it of the door.

"You know…," panted Valkyrie who was sitting on the floor next to Skulduggery, "we could have used air to push it.'

"I thought about that, but concluded that it would cause too much ruckus because it would require too much air power."

Valkyrie glared at him. "Well," she said, standing back up, "We need to find out more about our ghost and why she didn't want us in her room."

Skulduggery got up and straightened out his suit. "Well, we can look in the library or ask Mr. Bacon more about the past of this place, but it will have to what until tomorrow," pulled out his pocket watch, "It's almost 10'o clock. So my suggestion for now would be to get ready for bed and hope that something exciting shows up. Maybe, if we're lucky, she'll show up."

He put his watch away. "Alright, I'll be right back," he said, heading for the door, "I'm going to get a book from the library."

He opened the door and stopped, turned and smiled at Valkyrie.

"And this time, I'll knock!" He then disappeared behind the door. Valkyrie rolled her eyes and got ready for bed.

* * *

Skulduggery had returned with some book about the mansion and had plopped himself in one of the chairs. He was going to "stake out" to see if the ghost showed up. Since it was a full moon, he didn't need any lights.

Valkyrie sat on the bed, watching Skulduggery. She checked her phone for messages, but apparently no one wanted to talk to her. She sighed and looked at the time: 11:42.

She looked back up at Skulduggery. She felt her insides melt. He looked so handsome, illuminated by the full moon. She sighed and got up and walked up to him.

"I think I'm going to sleep now," she said, bending down until she was head level with him over his right shoulder.

"Alright, goodnight then," he said, barely looking up from his book.

"Goodnight," she said, then did something that she never thought she'd do: she kissed him. Just a quick peck on the cheek, but a kiss nonetheless. His cheek felt cool against her lips, sending chills up her spine.

She walked back to the bed and lay back down. 'What the HELL did I just do!?' Valkyrie thought, 'I can't believe I just did that!' 'But you enjoyed it,' the other part of her brain countered.

Valkyrie shooed the thought. 'But he's my friend,' Valkyrie thought as she began to drift off to sleep, 'What's he going to think?'


	4. Chapter 4: The Two Servants

The sun had come up early, sending its bright rays of light through the window and over the still sleeping Valkyrie. She pulled the covers up over her head, trying to block out the blinding rays of light. She then felt someone shake her shoulder gently.

"Go away, it's Saturday," she mumbled.

"Come on, get up Valkyrie. You can't sleep all day," Skulduggery said, still shaking her.

"Yes I can," she mumbled back. She then felt a pair of cold arms slip under her and lift her out of bed.

"No," Skulduggery said smiling, "you can't." He then dropped her on the bed. Valkyrie glared at him.

"Fine," she mumbled, "I'm up."

* * *

The library was peaceful, everyone either still in bed or downtown shopping. Valkyrie liked having the library to herself.

She walked around the shelves, looking for a book about the mansion. She turned the corner and bumped into Skulduggery.

"Oh there you are," he said, trying to keep Valkyrie from falling over, "I've been looking for you. Mr. Bacon said he might have some information that might be useful to us."

"I thought you were with Mr. Bacon?" Valkyrie asked, raising her eyebrow at him. Skulduggery looked to the floor and coughed nervously.

"I…had other business to attend to," he mumbled. Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"Right," she said, grabbing his tie and pulling him toward the doorway, "Let's go see Mr. Bacon."

* * *

"I found these documents in an old chest when I was cleaning out the attic of this place," Mr. Bacon said, dropping a pile of folders and stray papers on his desk. "I believe these go all the way back to the Cudahy family. They were the ones who built this place and it was their servant girl who died here."

Valkyrie eyed the stack, not looking forward to going through it all.

"So, this is like…receipts, bills, employee registration, stuff like that?" Valkyrie asked.

"Yes, plus journals, diaries, and other personal items including this." Mr. Bacon pulled a thick, leather bound book from the middle of the stack. "The diary of the servant girl, filled out to the very day she died."

He handed the diary to Valkyrie. She flipped open the book and skimmed through the neatly-written pages.

"I believe," Mr. Bacon said, walking around to sit at his desk, "that this will be helpful to your investigation, so it is yours to take."

"Thank you Mr. Bacon," Skulduggery said. "Now to get it all upstairs…"

"I could call someone to help you carry it," Mr. Bacon said, "Perhaps Clarabelle…"

"That's ok Mr. Bacon, we can handle it," Valkyrie interrupted, "Come on Skulduggery, grab half and lets get started."

Skulduggery rolled his eyes and sighed deeply. "Fine, let's go."

* * *

"There are even pictures in here," Valkyrie said, picking up a time-worn photo of the mansion. She was sitting on the bed, surrounded by the files from the pile. Skulduggery was sitting in a chair, flipping through the "guest book" from the mansion a couple years back.

"Find anything useful yet?" asked Valkyrie.

"Nope, nothing," Skulduggery replied, throwing the registration book back on the bed.

"I never did ask, did anything happen last night?" Valkyrie asked, blushing slightly at the memory of last night.

"No, it was quite a peaceful night actually…except for you," Skulduggery muttered, looking toward the floor.

"What do you mean?" asked Valkyrie, eyeing him suspiciously. Skulduggery shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, you seemed to be…quite…disturbed while you were sleeping."

Valkyrie felt her face go flush. "Like how, exactly?"

"Well, you were tossing and turning, moaning in your sleep…" He got up and walked over to the bed and sat down in front of her, avoiding the litter of papers. "Is something bothering you, Valkyrie?"

Valkyrie hesitated. 'Should I tell him,' she thought. She felt his cold hand stroke her cheek. She looked into his gray eyes.

"You know you can tell me anything," he said.

"I know," whispered Valkyrie, enjoying his touch on her cheek. 'I can't tell him,' she thought, 'not yet.'

"I'm fine Skulduggery," she said, taking his hand in hers, "Really."

Skulduggery smiled and leaned over to hug her. Valkyrie relaxed in his embrace. She took in his smell of…age. Not like old in age, but like wisdom and experience like an old book full of wondrous knowledge.

Skulduggery pulled back and smiled at her again. "Come on," he said, getting up and walking back to his chair, 'We have work to do."

Valkyrie nodded and picked up Abigail's diary and opened to the first page.

* * *

It was about 11o'cloack when Valkyrie looked at the clock. She stretched and looked around for Skulduggery, but he wasn't in the room. She shrugged and started to pick up the papers on the bed and stack them back up.

She scanned the papers as she picked them up: electric bills, receipts, transfers of ownership, and several other pieces of useless information. As Valkyrie sifted through the paper, an old picture of the mansion caught her eye.

The picture was taken in front of the mansion, but it was smaller. There were eleven people in the picture, four adults and seven children. Two of the adults were dressed as servants.

Valkyrie turned the photo over and read the scriptive writing on the back:

The Cudahy family

June 23, 1906

Mr. and Mrs. Cudahy

The Cudahy Children

Mary Anne and Abigail

Valkyrie flipped it back over and looked at the two servants. They were both quite young, about Valkyrie's age. One had long, light colored hair that was tied back into a ponytail, while the other had dark colored hair that was put up in a loose bun.

Valkyrie guessed that was Abigail. The other servant looked vaguely familiar to her, but she didn't know why. She sighed and stuck the picture into Abigail's journal.

She finished stacking and then set the pile down on the floor. Valkyrie looked around the room, deciding on what to do next. She walked over to the window and looked down.

It was a beautiful day. The sun shined down as it neared noon. She saw a carriage of people arrive from downtown, carrying bags of clothing and fudge. She smiled as she thought of what she was going to do.

She walked over to Skulduggery's suitcase and pulled out a wad of American cash. 'Besides,' she thought as she stuffed some money in her pocket, 'It's been a long time since I had fudge. I'm sure Skulduggery won't mind.'


	5. Chapter 5: Ghostly Encounters

The sun was setting as Valkyrie returned from downtown. The sky showed bright shades of pink and purple. Valkyrie savored the moment, enjoying the feeling of not running for her life, being chased by creepy vampires, crazy Texans, or faceless gods.

She made her way to her room, dragging her bag full of fudge and a shirt. She walked in, throwing the bag on the bed and received an "ow" in return.

She looked up and saw Skulduggery laid out on the bed. He was going through the pile again. His hat was sitting on the bed next to him, his tie undone and the first couple of buttons unbuttoned, showing off his unnaturally pale chest.

Valkyrie felt her knees go weak, her heart flutter, and her whole body tingle.

"What happened to our knocking rule?" he asked, smirking. Valkyrie was at a loss for words.

"I forget," she whispered, feeling the blood rushing to her face. Skulduggery chuckled and got up and walked over to her. She was sure that he could feel the heat radiate off her face.

"Well at least I'm not walking around half-naked," he said, the smirk never leaving his face.

'You might as well be,' Valkyrie thought, her mouth going dry.

"So you decided to spend the day in town, huh?" Valkyrie mentally shook her head.

"Yeah, I couldn't find you so I decided to spoil myself," she said, putting on her own smirk. Skulduggery snorted and walked back to the bed.

Valkyrie watched him, running her tongue across her teeth, her eyes filled with lust. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts.

'Why did he have to be so damn sexy?' she thought, deciding to now glare at the back of his head. It was like he _enjoyed _seeing her blush and squirm. Then she smiled wickedly, remembering his face when she saw her in her underwear.

"So, what did you do today?" she asked, walking over to the end of the bed, throwing her jacket on it, showing her long, pale arms off. He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. She smiled seductively and opened up her shopping bag and pulled out a piece of fudge. She walked over to the other side of the bed and sprawled out on her back.

"Nothing much," he said suspiciously, "I did some research in the library, then came up here to look through the pile again."

"Did you find anything?" she asked, sticking the piece of fudge in her mouth along with her index finger. She turned to look at him. She slowly pulled her finger out of her mouth and smiled as she watched him tense up and swallow hard.

"Uh…I didn't…find…anything…useful," he muttered, trying to avert his eyes. Valkyrie stifled a giggle.

"You know what, Skulduggery? I was thinking…maybe I could stay up with you tonight to see if anything happens."

Skulduggery looked like he was pondering the thought. "I suppose so. That is, if you can stay up," he replied, smirking.

"Don't worry. I can handle it,"

Skulduggery snorted again. "Right, sure you can."

* * *

They were laid out on the bed, the full moon flooding in, making the room glow. It was 2:00 in the morning and the silence was killing Valkyrie.

"What were they like?" she asked, startling Skulduggery.

"Who were what like?"

"Your wife and child."

"Oh."

"You don't have to answer I just-"

"No, it's fine. I figured you would ask someday, I just wasn't prepared for it."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "Not a day goes by that I don't miss them." He turned to look at Valkyrie. "You remind me so much of them, especially Serena, my wife." Valkyrie blushed.

"She was sweet, not to mention beautiful. Her heart-shaped face framed by her long, blonde hair and highlighted by her bright blue eyes. Every time I'd come home, she would be right there at the door, fussing over the cuts and bruises I'd have." He chuckled sadly. "Her hair smelled like apple blossoms."

Valkyrie raised an eyebrow. Skulduggery just shrugged.

"I don't know, but it fit her taken name: Aalin Orchard. 'Aalin' meant 'beautiful', 'beautiful orchard'. I thought it fit her perfectly."

"How does that remind you of me?"

Skulduggery ran his hand through his hair.

"I don't know, honestly," he said, "I just look at you and I think of her."

Valkyrie bit her lip as her face turned red and her heart jumped into her throat.

"Now Elizabeth, my daughter, had a personality like you. Rebel, impatient, ambitious…," Valkyrie hit him playfully on the arm. Skulduggery chuckled.

"It's true, but she had her moments. She was just learning magic too." Skulduggery rubbed his face. "She looked just like her mother, except she had my eyes, not to mention my charm and wit."

"So you're saying I'm like you?"

Skulduggery chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

They were silent for a while.

"What color were they?" Valkyrie asked quietly.

"Huh?"

"You eyes, I mean, they are gray now. I don't think they were always that way."

"Yeah, you're right. They were green. Serena used to tell me that when she looked into my eyes in was like looking over Ireland." He sighed. "Now it's like looking into emptiness." Valkyrie felt her heart sink.

"No it's not Skulduggery," she said, grabbing his shoulder, "It's like…," she looked into his eyes, "It's like looking into an adventure, a mystery and they reflect your experience and knowledge that you have taught me throughout the years."

Valkyrie's face turned red as she realized what she said. She expected him to ask her what she was thinking, but all he said was "wow". He stared wide-eyed at her. Valkyrie looked away.

"That was…quite…heartfelt," Skulduggery said.

Valkyrie couldn't believe she had said that and she could feel the heat radiate off her face. She then felt a cold hand stroke her cheek.

"Thank you Valkyrie," Skulduggery said, smiling. Valkyrie smiled weakly back at him.

"You're welcome Skulduggery," she replied. Skulduggery sighed and leaned back in the bed.

"It seems like nothing's going to happen tonight either, so you might as well try and get some sleep." He pulled his hat low over his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess your right," Valkyrie said, leaning back.

"Goodnight Skulduggery," Valkyrie whispered, but he was all ready meditating. Valkyrie rolled her eyes and looked out the window. She could feel her eyelids getting heavy. She gazed out at the full moon.

'Your eyes are like the moon,' she thought as she slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Valkyrie shivered as she slowly opened her eyes. She looked bleary eyed at the clock and groaned as she saw she had only been asleep for an hour. She shivered again and clung to whatever she was hugging, but only to find out that it was as cold as her.

She rubbed her eyes and found out that the "whatever" she was clinging to was actually Skulduggery's arm. She also saw that she could see her breath.

She let go of Skulduggery's arm and sat up, hugging her legs to her chest in an attempt to warm herself up. She looked up to see if the window had somehow come open, but froze as she saw the ghost of Abigail staring back at her.


	6. Chapter 6: Danger

Valkyrie had of course seen ghosts before, but that didn't stop her from fearing them. After being trapped in a look-alike of her uncle's house underground by Anathem Mire's ghost because he wanted her as his queen of darkness, ghosts unnerved her.

The ghost was standing…floating at the end of the bed, emitting a bluish glow. Her hair was tossed everywhere and her clothes were ruffled. Valkyrie could also make out the faint rope mark around her neck.

"You're…you're Abigail," Valkyrie stuttered. The ghost nodded.

"You're the one who moved the dresser," she said, her voice rising. Again, the ghost nodded.

"Why are you trying to keep us out? Why are you doing all of this?!" Valkyrie was almost shouting at her. The ghost just shook her head.

"You are in danger," she said, her voice echoing throughout the room. Her voice was beautiful, almost angelic. Valkyrie shook her head.

"But why? What's going on?" Abigail just shook her head.

"You need to leave here before it's too late."

"Before what's too late? What's going on?!" Abigail just shook her head.

She turned her head toward the window as the first few rays of sunlight peaked in. She was already beginning to fade.

"Just go. Please, just go." All Valkyrie could make out was her faint outline.

"No wait, don't go! Please tell me what's going on!" Valkyrie shuffled to the end of the bed, no longer afraid, but Abigail had already vanished along with the night.

* * *

"So let me get this straight: The ghost appeared and you didn't get me up."

"I can't, you said so yourself: You can't hear or feel anything when you're meditating."

"Yeah, but…oh fine, you win." Skulduggery sat down in a chair and rubbed his face. "But did she say anything, do anything? Was it even real?"

Valkyrie stared at him.

"Skulduggery, it was real. I've seen ghosts before and this was no fake. The room was so cold that I could see my breath. All she said was that I was in danger and that I needed to leave. Then, poof, gone." Skulduggery pondered the thought.

"That's it?" he asked, gazing off in space, "No reasons why or anything?" Valkyrie shook her head.

"I tried, but she just kept shaking her head." Skulduggery got up and walked over to the door, then leaned against it.

"Maybe this goes more in depth then we thought," he muttered, "Something or someone is keeping her tied here, and we need to find it out before something bad happens." He was silent for a moment, then whipped around and opened the door.

"I'm going to take a look at that attic. And Valkyrie?"

"Yes?"

"Watch your back."

With that, he left, leaving Valkyrie to wallow in her worries.

* * *

The journey to the library was a long one. She took careful heed to everything around her. She also noticed the huge chandelier dangling precariously from the ceiling.

She was sitting at a table, reading Abigail's diary and looking around every five seconds. She soon caught interest in a passage that Abigail had written about a guy she had seen while she was working in the mansion.

Apparently, the man was a business man along with Mr. Cudahy in his meat-packaging company. By the way she was describing him it seemed as though she fancied him: dark black hair that just fell over his icy blue eyes, charming and witty. Valkyrie thought this guy sounded a lot like Skulduggery.

She then jumped clear out of her seat as Skulduggery slammed a newspaper down in front of her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said, walking around behind her, "But I thought that this might interest you."

He turned the paper around to face her. The headline read: _"New Owner Takes Over Deathtrap Mansion"_. She picked the paper up and began to read the article next to the picture of the new owners:

"Alvin and Sallie Hert now own the infamous Stonecliffe Mansion. After the death of Michael Cudahy and the mysterious suicide of one of their servants, the Cudahy family sold the 150 acres to the Hert family," Valkyrie skimmed through the information about the mansion, "After hiring a new staff and plans for renovations, hope for a promising new future for this lovely estate is at large. Only the stench of death and the fear of what's to come remains."

Valkyrie put the paper down and looked at Skulduggery.

"What happened afterwards?"

"He died," he pointed to Alvin Hert in the picture, "Seven years after purchasing the property."

"Died of what?"

He threw her another newspaper. She picked it up and began to read: _"__ALVIN T. HERT DIES SUDDENLY OF APOPLEXY; Republican National Committeeman from Kentucky Stricken in Washington Hotel. __June 8, 1921, Wednesday, WASHINGTON, June 7.--Alvin Tobias Hert, Republican National Committeeman from Kentucky, died suddenly of apoplexy this afternoon in the New Willard ..."_

"What did Michael Cudahy die of?"

"Disease." Valkyrie raised an eyebrow.

"How is this helpful again?" Skulduggery rolled his eyes.

"Why her? Why not these guys? I believe someone wanted her dead. I also believe that same person wanted more people like Abigail here. It went from the Herts to a group called the M.R.A., then was used as a ski resort, then changed owners several more owners until now; the Bacon family owns it and turned it into one of the most successful hotels on the island, bringing in hundreds of different people. Remember how I told you that certain mages can manipulate people?"

"Yeah."

"I believe that this person is controlling the people in authority, allowing more and more people to come here until that person found what they were looking for. So far, they haven't found it, until now."

"So you're saying that we're dealing with a mage and they finally found what they were looking for…in me?"

"Exactly Valkyrie, and we need to find what they connection is before something bad happens. This is why the ghost has been acting up. She sees these events happening again and she's trying to stop them. She's trying to save you."


	7. Chapter 7: Chandelier Chaos

Valkyrie got up and followed Skulduggery out if the library.

"I just don't get it, Skulduggery," she said, looking toward the floor, "What could Abigail and I have in common? I mean, we're not related. I don't think…" She sighed and looked out the window as she heard a rumble. The sky was beginning to darken.

'There must be a storm coming,' she thought. She heard another rumble followed by a very faint cracking noise. She scrunched up her nose.

'That's not thunder,' she thought, looking around her. She stopped in the middle of the hall. Skulduggery turned around.

"What's the matter?"

"Shh." She heard it again.

"Don't-."

"Shh!" She heard the noise again, louder this time.

"Don't you hear that?" she whispered, listening intently.

"Hear wh-," but he stopped as a loud, deafening, cracking sound cut him off from above. They both looked up as the chandelier swung violently.

Valkyrie felt Skulduggery yank on her arm just as the chandelier broke free from the ceiling. They both fell to the floor and Valkyrie covered her face as the chandelier came crashing down to the floor. The sound of breaking glass filled her ears and the rush of wind blew her hair back.

She felt pieces of glass hit her, but they couldn't penetrate through her jacket. She made a mental note to give Ghastly a big thank you when she got back.

She carefully peaked over her arms, and then stood up. She yelped in pain as she cut her hand on a piece of glass. The broken pieces of glass crunched under her heavy boots as she walked toward the wreckage.

She covered her face again as more of the ceiling fell. She looked up, trying to keep the debris out of her eyes and saw the gaping hole in the ceiling.

She felt Skulduggery pull on her arm, pulling her away. He lifted up her arm, examining her cut hand. Valkyrie looked down at it. The piece of glass was still stuck in her hand.

"We need to get that out of your hand," he said, caressing the sensitive skin. She kept wincing every time his fingers came close to the glass, but she didn't let him see that.

"What's going on out here?!" yelled a voice from behind them. They turned to see Mr. Bacon come out from one of the hallways. He stared at the remains of the chandelier, then stared at Skulduggery and Valkyrie.

"What happened?"

"The chandelier fell," Skulduggery said, pointing to the ceiling. Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"I can see that Mr. Pleasant!" Mr. Bacon yelled as he stormed over to them, "I'm wondering why it fell."

"Saboteur," Skulduggery said, straightening out his suit, "Someone's out to kill Valkyrie." Mr. Bacon raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" he asked, his arms flailing in frustration, "What's going on?" Skulduggery sighed.

"Maybe this is best explained in your office."

* * *

After an hour of explaining to Mr. Bacon, (of course, they didn't tell him the whole story) they headed upstairs to try and remove the glass from Valkyrie's hand.

She was sitting on the edge of the tub, watching Skulduggery raid the cupboards for bandages and antiseptic. After finding them, he knelt down next to her and began to clean the blood off her hand. Valkyrie gave a weak smile.

"At least Kenspeckle isn't here to hound you about how much danger you're putting me in," she said quietly.

"Yeah, you're right. He'd probably be close to biting my head clean off right about now." He finished cleaning, and then looked up at her.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded and closed her eyes.

"Just do it fast," she said quickly. She yelled out as she felt him yank the glass out of her hand. She opened her eyes to see him applying the bandage.

"There," he said, turning her hand over to examine his handy work, "It's not as good as Kenspeckle, but you'll live." He stood up and threw away the piece of glass.

Valkyrie flexed her hand. It still hurt, but she would be able to fight if need be. She got up and followed Skulduggery out of the bathroom and sat down next to him on the edge of the bed. She looked down at her hand, rubbing it gently, thinking what to say next.

"Now what?" she asked quietly. Skulduggery sighed and rubbed his face.

"Now we hope to catch this lunatic before they get the chance to finish you off for good."

"But how? We know nothing about this person."

"Since when has that stopped as? We're detectives. It's our job to find out the unknown." Valkyrie stood up and turned to face him, ready for anything.

"So where do we start?"


	8. Chapter 8: Bath Time Blues

Valkyrie had taken refuge at a secluded table in the library, surrounded by piles of files. Skulduggery had told her to start from the beginning, so that's what she did. She had gathered all the files of the people who had owned or worked in the mansion over the years, hoping to make some kind of discovery. About half way through the stack, she dropped the file she was reading and sighed in frustration.

"I'm never going to find anything in all this crap," she muttered angrily to herself. She glanced around the table and noticed the picture sticking out of the Abigail's diary. She picked it up and stared at it, hoping it would give her the answer. She looked at the other servant in the picture. Valkyrie knew she had seen her before, but couldn't think where. She sighed and dropped the photo on an open employee records books.

Then something caught her eye. She quickly grabbed the book and looked back and forth between the photo of the servant and an old-time photo of a light-colored haired girl with named Veronica. They were the same person.

She pulled out another book and began flipping through it. She stopped at a picture of a young girl with straight, short blonde hair, pale blue eye, and a dazzling smile. Again, the same person. She went to go reach for another book, but stopped. She had seen those pale blue eyes before, and that perfect smile.

'_Clarabelle_,' Valkyrie thought. She grabbed the books and the photo and ran to find Skulduggery. She had just pasted the last bookcase before the doorway as she ran into Skulduggery.

"Whoa, what's the rush?" he asked as he kept them from falling over.

"It's Clarabelle!" she gasped.

"What?"

"Clarabelle! She's been in this mansion since the beginning. Here, look at this!" She shoved the books at him and pointed to each picture.

"You can't tell me that not the same person." Skulduggery looked the pictures over.

"You're right," he said quietly.

"And I can tell those eyes and that smile anywhere, it's Clarabelle!" she exclaimed. Skulduggery thought about it for second.

"So she's a mage, along with three other people who work here." Valkyrie's face dropped.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean, she's not the only one. I found two Adepts and one Elemental within the staff just recently."

"How did you find them?" Skulduggery hesitated.

"Well, actually, they found me. Apparently they knew who I was and they came to me." Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"But why didn't she come to you?" Skulduggery shrugged and handed the books back to Valkyrie.

"Maybe she doesn't know amazing moi," he said with a smirk. Valkyrie glared at him.

"Then how come these mages didn't tell you about her?" Skulduggery shrugged.

"They said they didn't know anyone else here that was a mage. But she might have not told them if she herself didn't know they were mages." Valkyrie shook her head.

"I'm telling you Skulduggery, she's bad news!"

"Relax Valkyrie! I'll look into it if it makes you feel better. I think I could weasel a few answers out of her," he said suggestively, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. Valkyrie felt her heart sink and the anger build in her throat.

"I'm sure you can," she choked out, trying to keep from breaking down in tears and yelling at him. Skulduggery nodded in triumph and walked toward the staff room.

Valkyrie stormed back to her table, grabbed her things and ran back to her room, taking heed to the remaining wreckage of the chandelier. She dropped the books on the bed as the first hot tear rolled down her cheek. She walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

She leaned over the sink, the tears now flowing freely down her cheeks. She was furious at Skulduggery for not listening to her and heartbroken that he would rather spend his time with that…that skank.

Valkyrie wiped away the tears, only to have them replaced by a fresh, new batch. She looked up in the mirror and stared at the tired, red-eyed, brown haired girl that stared bleary-eyed back at her. She sighed and rubbed her face.

'Maybe a bath will make me feel better,' she thought as she reached up and pulled her tunic up over her head. She continued to strip the rest of her clothes off and looked back at herself in the mirror.

Her whole body was pale, covered in many scars. She was quite proud of her scars, trophies as she liked to call them, for each of the battles she fought. She took her finger and ran it along the long scar that ran along her chest, starting below her left collarbone and ending below her right breast. The scar was very faint, but Valkyrie knew it was there.

She had received it a couple years ago, chasing a prison escapee with Skulduggery. She had cornered him in an alley and had gone to cuff him when he slashed out at her with a hidden knife. Skulduggery had told her that she needed to go to Kenspeckle, but she refused, demanding that she be taken back to his house.

She had run into one of the rooms with a mirror to find a long, huge gash pumping blood down her chest. She had used the remains of her shirt as a bandage and rummaged through a wardrobe for one of Skulduggery's shirts.

She had never truly realized how skinny Skulduggery was until she put that shirt on. She remembered that she couldn't button the shirt up all the way. She laughed sadly as she remembered she had chucked the two blood-soaked pieces of her bra at Skulduggery, telling him that's why she didn't want to go to Kenspeckle's. Valkyrie sighed and walked over to the tub.

She turned the old-fashioned handle, allowing the hot water to spew from the faucet. She put the stopper in and waited for the tub to fill. She went to go turn the water off, the handle wouldn't turn. Valkyrie cursed under her breath, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her. She walked to the door and tried to open it, but the handle wouldn't turn. She frantically tried to get it to turn, but it wouldn't budge.

The room was starting to heat up really fast, clouding Valkyrie's vision. She could feel her lungs start to get heavy. She heard a splash behind her and turned to see the water from the tub start spilling over the edge. Valkyrie started to freak. She turned and pounded on the door. She could feel her eyes getting heavy and her breathing slow.

She backed up and tried to blast the door, but her mind was too foggy. She fell back onto the door. She could feel herself slipping in and out of consciences. She started banging on the door again.

"Skulduggery!" she yelled, hoping he would be close enough to hear her.

"Skulduggery!" She began to slip down the door.

"Skulduggery." Her vision was beginning to blur.

"Skulduggery." Her voice was getting faint.

"Skul…dug…ger…y." Her vision faded to black as she splashed down onto the floor. The last thing she heard was the faint click of the lock.

* * *

"Valkyrie! Come on, Valkyrie, wake up!" Valkyrie opened her eyes and light flooded her vision. She moaned and closed her eyes, her head spinning.

"What happened?" she croaked. She opened her eyes again and took in the scene before her.

She was lying on the bed, still in her towel. Skulduggery was leaning over her, watching her with great concern. Then she saw Clarabelle sitting by her legs.

"You passed out," Skulduggery said, putting his cold hand on her forehead. The coolness felt good.

"We had just walked into the room when we heard a thud and saw water coming out from under the bathroom door. So Skulduggery opened the door to find you passed out and the tub still running. So he picked you up and set you on the bed and I turned the water off. I figured you must have passed out from the heat," Clarabelle said like she was the smartest person in the world. Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"I couldn't get the water to turn off, so I was going to see if I could find something to help me, but the door wouldn't open. Next thing I know I'm laying on the bed in nothing but a towel," she said, trying to sit up. Skulduggery pushed her back down.

"You aren't going anywhere," he said, then turned to Clarabelle, "I think I can handle it from here, Clarabelle, thanks."

"Alright, I'll see you later then, right?" Clarabelle asked, standing up and heading toward the door. Skulduggery nodded.

"Alright," she said, opening up the door, "I hope you feel better Valkyrie." She then left. Valkyrie rubbed her eyes and moaned again. Skulduggery turned back to her and placed his hand back on her forehead.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly. Valkyrie nodded. She brought her hand up to his, wanting the coolness to stay. Then she remembered she didn't have any clothes on. Her face turned red as she let go of his hand and carefully got up, keeping the towel tight around her. Skulduggery coughed nervously.

"Your clothes from the bathroom are soaked," he said, looking at the floor.

"Well that's just peachy," she muttered as she headed toward her suitcase. She pulled some clothes and looked toward the bathroom. The floor was still wet. She turned back to Skulduggery.

"Can you turn around please?" she asked quietly, blushing. Skulduggery nodded and got up, turning toward the window. She reluctantly dropped the towel and quickly out her clothes on.

"You can turn around now," she said, walking over to the bed. Skulduggery turned back around and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to Valkyrie. She hugged her legs to her body.

"So you're meeting Clarabelle tonight?" she asked quietly. Skulduggery looked over at her.

"Yeah," he said, looking down at his hands, "We're supposed to go to the Woods Restaurant for dinner." Valkyrie bit her lip to keep from crying.

"But you can't eat," she chocked out.

"Who said I was going to be eating? I'm just trying to get some answers out of her." Valkyrie nodded sadly.

"Right," she whispered.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright?"

'No!' her brain screamed, 'Please stay with me! I need you…'

"I'm fine, Skulduggery," she said giving him a weak smile. Skulduggery pulled her into a hug and Valkyrie buried her face in his neck, digging her nails into his back. She felt safe in his arms and she didn't want that feeling to go away. She heard thunder close by when Skulduggery pulled away. He got up and walked toward the door.

"If you need anything, just ring me ok." Valkyrie nodded.

Then he left. Valkyrie could hear the rain start to fall as the tears began to fall from her eyes.


	9. Chapter 9: Jealous

Valkyrie rubbed her blood-shot eyes as she groggily got up and looked at the clock. It was 6:30.

'Skulduggery's probably on his _date_,' Valkyrie thought as she sat up. She walked over to her suitcase and began to dig through it, looking for her sketchbook and her phone. She found her phone, but the sketchbook was nowhere to be found.

She jumped as her phone beeped at her. Giving up her search, she opened her phone to find a text message from Tanith. She sat down on the bed and read the message:

_'Hey Val, what's up?' _Valkyrie texted her back:

_'It's raining here and Skul's on a date.'_

_ 'That's a bummer. Wait, Skul's on a date?!'_

_ 'Yeah, one of the hotel employees. She's a real piece of work.'_

_ 'Sounds like you're not too happy about it.'_

_ 'Oh yeah Tanith, I really like Skul leaving me here to go mess around with some girl.'_

_ 'Nah, I think your jealous.' _Valkyrie glared at the phone.

_'Whatever, I got to go look for my sketchbook.'_

_ 'You're not denying it.'_

_ 'Goodbye Tanith.'_

_ 'Bye Val ;)'_

Valkyrie shook her head and headed over to the mirror. Her eyes were still red and puffy from the crying. She noticed Skulduggery's hat and sunglasses sitting on the dresser. She wondered why he left them there. She changed into her protective clothing and grabbed his hat and sunglasses, putting them on to cover up her puffy eyes.

She slipped out the door and headed toward the library, hoping that her sketchbook would be there. She wandered around the library, checking each table for her book. Not finding it, she leaned against the wall, fanning herself with Skulduggery's hat. The smell of it comforted her. She held it lose to her face, then hugged it tight to her chest.

She hated to admit it, but Tanith was right. She was jealous. Maybe she was just making a big fuss over nothing. Maybe he wasn't interested in Clarabelle; maybe he really was trying to just get answers out of her. Valkyrie sighed, she could only hope.

She headed out of the library and walked over to the information desk and asked if anyone had turned in a sketchbook. They said no, so Valkyrie slumped up the grand staircase, bummed that she had lost her sketchbook. As she reached her floor, she removed the sunglasses and looked at the floor.

'Maybe it got mixed up with all the files in the room,' she thought as she neared her room.

That's when she saw Clarabelle come through her room door, giggling like a little girl and pulling Skulduggery behind her by his hand. She then turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing him up against the door and kissed him fully on the mouth.

Valkyrie felt her blood run cold, her heart breaking. They must of heard her gasp because they quickly broke apart and looked at her.

"Valkyrie..." Skulduggery started, but Valkyrie just shook her head, the tears stinging at the corner of her eyes. She turned and ran back down the hallway.

"Valkyrie wait!" Skulduggery cried out from behind her, but she didn't stop. She ran down the staircase and toward the front door, Skulduggery hot on her heels.

The rain had stopped, but the sky was still dark and dismal. She had just reached the end of the front steps when Skulduggery grabbed her arm and whipped her around to face him.

"Valkyrie, please listen to me!" he said, pleading.

"Why should I?" she snapped at him, twisting her arm out of his grip.

"What is the matter?"

"Her!" she screeched, pointing toward the mansion.

"Why? What do you have against Clarabelle?" Valkyrie felt the anger rise within her as the tears streamed down her cheeks.

"You really have the nerve to ask me that?! I told you, she's bad news, but you didn't listen to me!" She glared at him and noticed his appearance. His hair and shirt where ruffled and his tie was missing. Valkyrie's jaw dropped.

"You slept with her, didn't you?!"

"I..." he hesitated and looked away.

"I can't believe you!" Skulduggery's head snapped toward her, his brow furrowed in anger.

"What?! What the hell Valkyrie?! Why do you care so much?!"

"Because I love you!"

Skulduggery stared wide-eyed at her. She hadn't mean to say it, it just came out, but she meant it. She looked down at her feet and saw that she still had his hat and sunglasses. She put the sunglasses in his hat and wipe her tears with the back of her free hand. She gathered herself together and gave him her straightest face. She thrust the his hat out toward him. He raised an eyebrow and gingerly took the hat from her.

"Consider this my final act," she said somberly, "I'm resigning from the team." A fresh new batch of hot tears fell down her cheeks.

"Goodbye Skulduggery." With that, she turned on her heel and began to walk away. She heard Skulduggery call her name behind her, but she started in a dead sprint toward the apple orchard, the tears now streaming non-stop down her cheeks.


	10. Chapter 10: Deathtrap

Here it is!!! Chapter 10!!! You find out who it is!!! **Warning:** It's not bad but there's a little violence, some blood, and someone is severely pierced (and a tad bit of swearing)...but enough of me!!! I hope you enjoy!!!

* * *

Valkyrie crumbled to the ground in exhaustion, her body shaking from her uncontrollable sobs. She didn't want to believe it, everything that happened. She wanted it to all go away, for all the pain and hurt to just disappear.

_"I can make it stop_."

Valkyrie's head shot up, looking around for the source of the voice.

"Who…who are you?" Valkyrie stuttered, not seeing anyone.

_"I can make all the pain go away."_

The voice was eerie sounding, echoing around her, as if coming from the trees. Valkyrie shakily stood up, her knees clanking.

"Sh-show yourself," she yelled out, hoping to sound braver then she felt. The voice chuckled softly, sending chills up Valkyrie's spine.

_"You are scared and you can't hide it. But don't be afraid, I'm here to help you. I can make your suffering fade away."_

A gentle breeze flowed through the dead trees, making them whistle. Valkyrie saw something moving around of her. She slowly walked toward and gasped at what she saw.

A noose was swaying gently in the breeze, almost hypnotically. Valkyrie continued to walk toward to, entranced by it. She was only a foot away from it now. How easy would it be to do it? To end it all? To make the pain just fade away…

"Don't listen to her!"

Valkyrie whipped around, looking for the speaker of the new voice. It sounded angelic and so familiar…

"Abigail?" Valkyrie asked, looking for the ghostly girl.

"She's playing with your mind. She's trying to get you to kill yourself!" Valkyrie turned back to the noose, now terrified and began to back away from it.

"Run! Run away while you still can!" Valkyrie then turned around and bolted back the way she had come. She then felt something wrap around her ankle, causing her to fall hard to the ground.

She heard that eerie laugh again, bit it sounded different, more feminine. She looked down at her ankle and saw a tree root wrapped tight around it.

"You think you could outrun me?" Valkyrie looked up to see Clarabelle slowly walking toward her, a smile plastered on her face. Valkyrie narrowed her eyes.

"_You!"_ Valkyrie hissed, trying to twist her foot free from the root's grip. Clarabelle laughed.

"How does it feel to know you were right, and no one listen to you?" Valkyrie snarled as she conjured a fireball and made to throw it at Clarabelle, but another tree root burst through the ground and pin her wrist to the ground.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Clarabelle sneered, now only a couple feet away. A tree branch lashed out at Valkyrie's neck, wrapping snug around it and pulled her into the air as the roots released their grips.

Another branch coiled around her middle, pinning her arms to her sides. Valkyrie kicked her legs out at Clarabelle, but she was just out of her reach.

"You have quite the tough mind Cain," Clarabelle said, hissing out her name, "I had to put a great deal of work into you." Valkyrie clenched her jaw.

"It was you who caused the chandelier to fall and the bathroom to overflow!" Clarabelle laughed.

"You are quite the detective. Too bad it won't help you now." Clarabelle began circling around Valkyrie, keeping out of her kicking range.

"When you first got here, I knew you would be hard to break. So I devised a couple of plans to make sure your blood spilled. Unfortunately you're partner was there to save you every time. Then I discovered your little secret, with the help of this." She held up Valkyrie's sketchbook. Valkyrie went livid.

"You thief!" she screamed, "You thieving whore!" Clarabelle laughed.

"Once I figured out that you were in love with your partner, it was smooth sailing from there. I just pulled the same stunt I did with Abigail. I played the strings on your heart just like a piano, and you just fell to your knees." Valkyrie lashed out at her.

"The business man that Abigail fancied! That's why she committed suicide, because she saw you with him!" Valkyrie felt the branch around her neck tighten.

"Very good. Though I do have to admit, Pleasant was so much better." Valkyrie continued to squirm around, only to have the branch continue to tighten.

"But why us?" Valkyrie choked out, "Why kill us?" Clarabelle raised an eyebrow.

"You haven't figured it out yet? I thought you would have known by now since it so obvious." Clarabelle stopped in front of her.

"You're a virgin Cain. Your blood is the purest it can get. It's what my trees thrive off of." Valkyrie snarled at her.

"That's why you kept bringing more people here, trying to bring more virgins!" Valkyrie yelled at her, then she smirked, "But it didn't work, did it?" Clarabelle snarled.

"Do you know how hard it is to find mature virgin blood these days?! They don't stay virgins for long, especially here! So you could only imagine my shear delight when you arrived and I how I would stop at nothing to make sure that every drop of blood was drained from your pathetic body!" Clarabelle calmed herself for a moment, then looked back up at Valkyrie, smiling wickedly.

"Well, I hate to cut things short, but my trees are growing quite wearisome." She made a small wave toward Valkyrie.

"So, goodbye Cain."

Valkyrie could feel the branches tightening around her, squeezing the breath out of her. Then a gun shot rang out and Clarabelle screamed, clutching her shoulder. Valkyrie strained her neck to see Skulduggery, his gun pointed at Clarabelle, still smoking.

"Let her go Clarabelle," he said darkly. Clarabelle snarled at him, her blood pumping out the bullet wound, covering her hand.

_"Kill him!"_ she hissed, her white shirt now soaked blood red. Valkyrie watched in horror as tree roots blasted through the ground, sending rumble everywhere and tree branches lashed out, Skulduggery narrowly missing every swipe.

He clicked his fingers, summoning twin fireballs and tried to ignite the flailing branches. With that failing miserably, he switched to blasting the branches.

Once he cleared a path, he launched himself at Clarabelle, knocking her to the ground. She kicked her leg out at him, only to have him catch it and twist her onto her stomach. She lashed out with her other leg, catching him in the jaw. Another branch lashed out at his face, which he ducked under as Clarabelle clambered to her feet. Skulduggery tried to get to his feet, but a branch snapped out, smacking him in the chest and sending him into the truck of another tree. He dodged another swiping branch and chased after Clarabelle, who was running back toward the mansion.

Valkyrie then kicked her leg out, making contact with Clarabelle's head, sending her to the ground. She got up, but Skulduggery caught her by her arms, hand cuffing them behind her back and pointed his gun at her head.

"You are under arrest for countless murders, attempted murder, and numerous other things," he said, trailing out the last bit, "Now I suggest you let Valkyrie go before I truly make your pathetic life a living hell." Skulduggery was even starting to scare Valkyrie. Clarabelle snickered.

"That's not going to work for me handsome," she said, smiling. A branch then pierced through Skulduggery's back and right through his stomach, breaking the bond on the cuff and causing Skulduggery to drop his gun. Valkyrie screamed his name, only to have her airway cut off by the branches squeezing her again.

Skulduggery fell to his knees, clutching his stomach as Clarabelle ran toward the mansion. Valkyrie watched as he picked up his gun, aimed at Clarabelle's back, and fired. Clarabelle fell to the ground unmoving.

The branches loosened around Valkyrie, making her fall hard to the ground. She coughed and then winced at her mistake, feeling her sides and neck scream at her in protest. She shakily stood up and walked over to Skulduggery, helping him to his feet.

"Are you alright?" she croaked out. He winced in pain.

"Yeah I'm fine," he said, smiling weakly, "Just stings a bit is all. I'll live, well, not really, but you know what I mean." Valkyrie smiled then looked up the path.

"She's dead, isn't she?" she asked, a little too chipper. He nodded and headed up the path toward Clarabelle, wincing with every step. Valkyrie followed close behind him.

Clarabelle was lying in a pool of blood, a bullet hole through her heart.

"Wow, what a shot," she muttered.

"Thanks," he mumbled, kneeling down to examine her body, tenderly picking up her arm.

"Perhaps we should call the American Sanctuary and tell them what happened?" Skulduggery stood up and took out his phone.

"Perhaps your right."

* * *

Valkyrie watched the van carrying Clarabelle's body drive away as it headed toward the airport. She was sitting on the roof of the mansion, watching the sun set. She heard footsteps behind her. She stood up and turned to see Skulduggery standing there with his hands in his pockets and the gaping hole in his stomach gone.

"Did you talk to Mr. Bacon yet?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, walking toward her, "I did."

"Oh?" she exclaimed, raising an eyebrow, "And what exactly did you tell him?" Skulduggery chuckled.

"That Clarabelle was using the "ghost girl" myth to scare away customers to try and run him out of business and when she came close to killing you, I shot her to stop her and that I already contacted the authorities to take care of her."

"I thought vehicles weren't allowed on the island." He shrugged.

"They made an exception." Valkyrie smiled.

"Too bad they didn't make an exception for your Bentley." He laughed.

"Yeah, that'd be nice." She looked down at his stomach.

"At least you don't have a hole through your middle anymore." He smiled.

"Just a quick reset and tada!" he posed, "Good as new!" Valkyrie laughed. Skulduggery then reached out and moved her hair from off her neck.

"What happened to the bruising on your neck?" She pulled out a small bottle from out of her pocket and handed it to him.

"I "borrowed" it from Kenspeckle before we left. It's supposed to help heal bruising." He handed the bottle back to her and gingerly touched her neck again.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked gently.

"Not really. Hurts to move it a lot and my sides ache a bit, but I've had worse." Skulduggery smiled and shook his head, still stroking her neck. His fingers swiftly moved up to her cheek and sighed.

"Look, Valkyrie, I'm so sorry about wh-,"but Valkyrie put a finger to his lips.

"Don't worry about it," she said gently, "It's not entirely your fault. But I forgive you none-the-less." Skulduggery shook his head.

"No it's not alright Valkyrie. I should have listened to you and taken better heed to your feelings."

"Skulduggery," she said firmly, "Don't beat yourself up. I said I forgive you. And no matter what happens, I still love you." Skulduggery smiled and tilted her chin up.

"I love you too Valkyrie," he said gently and pressed his lips to hers. Valkyrie felt her heart exploded and her whole body tingling upon feeling his cool lips on hers. She slid her arms around his neck, wanting to him to be closer to her. He wrapped his arms tight around her waist, caressing the small of her back.

Valkyrie gently broke away and pressed her forehead to his, smiling. He gently spun her around to face to the setting sun, keeping his arms tight around her and burying his face in her neck.

The sun was just sending its last few rays over the horizon, making the sky glow bright red. Valkyrie breathed in the new night air and sighed happily. She had never felt happier and loved every minute of it.

"You know," Skulduggery said mischievously, his lips trailing up her neck, his breath sending chills up her spine, "It is are last night here. We could make the most of it." Valkyrie smiled seductively at him.

"I think I might have to take you up on that offer."


	11. Chapter 11: Not So Bad After All

First off: I'm so sorry this took longer than expect and when I tried to post this yesterday, it did not want to work. Second: **MAJOR WARNING!!!**: This contains VERY M-rated material, so read at your own risk...I guarantee you will not miss anything important if you don't read it. Third: I tried, and please don't flame me for this. It was an experiment and this was the end result. So if you do read it, please tell me what you think. Only one more chapter left...  


* * *

Valkyrie dragged Skulduggery into their room as he kicked the door shut behind him with his foot. Valkyrie slipped her arms around his neck as he gently placed a kiss on her lips and slipped his hands under her jacket, slipping it off and throwing it on the chair, soon joined by his.

Valkyrie let her hands slid up the back of his hand, her fingers becoming entangled in his messy, black hair. He kissed her again, snaking his arms around her waist. He slipped his hands under her tunic, his fingers gently caressing the skin above her trousers.

She gasped and her body flinched. His hands were freezing. He looked at her with concern.

"You ok?" he asked. Valkyrie could feel the hot blush creep across her cheeks.

"Your hands," she said sheepishly, "They're cold." Skulduggery made to remove his hands, Valkyrie stopped him.

"Don't stop," she said softly, almost pleading him, "It was just…shock. Please don't stop." Skulduggery cocked his head.

"So you don't mind if I do this?" He slid his hand around to her front, his fingers just barely brushing the sensitive skin above her trousers. Valkyrie felt every muscle in her stomach flinch at his touch and her insides tingle with longing.

"Nooooo," she moaned out, her fingernails digging into his shoulders, trying to keep herself under control. Skulduggery smiled, as if pleased with her reaction. He slid his hands further up her shirt, grazing over her stomach. Valkyrie moaned, brushing her lips against his.

She then reached down and pulled her tunic up over her head, discarding it on the floor. She felt Skulduggery's eyes roam over her chest. Valkyrie bit her lip and grabbed his tie, untying it and threw it on the floor. She untucked his shirt and let her fingers tickle his stomach. She saw him bite his lip, trying to keep from groaning.

She reached up and started unbuttoning his shirt, undoing each button slowly, one by one. When she reached the last one, she slid her hands back up his cold chest and slid his shirt off, letting it fall to the floor behind him.

Valkyrie marveled at his chest. He skin was stretched over his bony frame and she could see every rippling muscle twitch from her touch. The moonlight that was shinning in made his pale skin seem to glow. She reached the brim of his slacks and gripped them tight, her fingers curling beneath the fabric, feeling the top of his boxers and the muscles below them convulsing.

She felt Skulduggery grip her waist tight. She could tell he didn't care much for the slow, foul play. He was just itching to move forward, but he was holding back just for her. He leaned down and began nipping at her neck. She could tell that he wanted to bite her.

She brought her hands back up to his shoulders and lightly dragged her nails across his chest, leaving faint, white trails in their wave.

"Bite me," she breathed in his ear as her fingers dragged past his belt, caressing the noticeable lump in his slacks. Skulduggery groaned loudly, his fingers digging in her sides, but she could hear the low growl deep in his throat as he bit down on her neck, causing her to moan loudly.

Her hands went back up to his belt, quickly undoing it and the button on his slacks. She could feel his bites sink lower down her neck, kissing her after each bite. She gripped each side of his slacks and pulled them down to his ankles, dragging her hands up the inside of his legs as she stood back up, making sure her hands grazed over the lump in his boxers.

Skulduggery couldn't keep the growl out of his groan. He kicked his shoes off and pulled his trousers the rest of the way off. He picked her up as she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around her waist. Valkyrie kissed him passionately, her tongue flicking in and out of his mouth as she took his hat off and let it fall to the floor and began running her hands through his hair.

She kicked off her boots, hearing each one fall to the floor with a dull thud. She felt Skulduggery glided his hands across her arse and grip the back of her thighs, causing her to moan in his mouth. He walked over to the bed and dropped her on it, leaning over her and grinning like a Cheshire cat. Valkyrie grinned back at him, cupping his face in her hands and kissed him, her tongue locking with his.

Hw slid a hand down her neck and over her chest, causing her to arch her body into him, his hand continuing down her stomach and quickly undoing the button and unzipping the trousers, gently rubbing a finger over the exposed skin, making her moan in his mouth.

Valkyrie felt her insides throbbing, longing for his fingers to travel lower. Skulduggery broke the kiss and dipped his head down to kiss her neck before reaching down and pulling off her trousers. He trailed a hand back up her leg, resting it on her hip and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked quietly. Valkyrie cupped his face in her hands and smiled.

"Of course I do," she said softly, "I love you. Besides, I don't need any more lunatics coming after me because I have virgin blood." Skulduggery smiled and kissed her as she slid her arms tight around his neck, deepening the kiss. He slid the hand on her waist up her side and behind her back, his fingers playing with the buckle on her black bra.

Valkyrie felt her heart speed up as she felt the fabric come loose around her as Skulduggery unbuckled the clasp. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as he pulled the bra off and let it fall to the floor. He broke the kiss and looked down at her chest. Valkyrie could feel her face burning. She watched him trail a finger across the scar on her chest, surprised that he could even see it.

"I'm the only one who knows about this scar, aren't I?" he asked, running his finger up and down it.

'That's a dumb question,' she thought, 'Yeah Skul, everybody knows about the scar running across my chest.' She would have told him this, but all she could manage was a nod. He slid a hand over one of her breasts and Valkyrie moaned loudly, her fingers clutching at the bedspread. Skulduggery smiled and placed a hand over her breast, his thumb caressing the sensitive skin.

"You're obsessed, aren't you?" she asked, her breathing heavy. He shrugged and gently squeezed her. Valkyrie arched her back into him and moaned out his name.

"Maybe I am," he replied and kissed her passionately bringing his hand back up to her face, slipping it behind her head and caressing her cheek with his thumb. He broke away and began to kiss down her neck, over her collarbone, until he reached her chest. He proceeded to kiss the swell of her breast, making Valkyrie mutter his name with each gentle kiss until she felt him flick his wet tongue across her nipple, causing her to grip the bed harder and a tingling feeling start to arouse within her very core.

Each time he would do it, the feeling would grow until it overwhelmed her mind and body and all she could think of was satisfying her lust. She felt him move his kisses down her stomach, ending right above her back underwear as he caressed the inside of her thigh. He then hooked his fingers on each side of her underwear and pulled them off, discarding them on the floor with the rest of their clothes. He slid his cold hand back up the inside of her thigh and ever so gently dragged a cold finger across her hot, moist lips.

Valkyrie's whole body flinched at his touch, but, despite the coolness of it, only made the fire burning within her sear even hotter. Skulduggery kissed her as he continued to stroke her. Valkyrie slid her hands down his chest and began pulling on the waistband of his boxers.

She then pulled them down and he pulled them the rest of the way off and went back to rubbing her lips. Valkyrie slowly let her fingers drag past his waist and she gasped in his mouth as she felt his manhood. Skulduggery groaned in her mouth as her fingers stroked the underside side of his cock.

Finally, he had enough of the teasing. He took away his hand from her and positioned himself directly above her, breaking the kiss and smiled down at her. Valkyrie slid her arms around his neck.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. She smiled.

"It's a little late for that now, isn't it?" she whispered as she stroked the back of his neck.

"Yeah I guess you're right," he whispered as he descended upon her body. Valkyrie gasped as she felt his chest press against hers and his cock rub against her wet lips, it just as cold as his fingers. He kissed up her neck until he reached her ear.

"I love you," he breathed and slipped himself inside her.

"Oh my gods!" she yelled out, feeling her muscles trying to accommodate his length. He thrust hard against her, making her moan his name out and bury her face in his neck, her nails digging into his back.

Skulduggery hissed in pain, but Valkyrie's grip did not loosen. Her sight was blinded by her lust. She could feel herself getting close to her climax with each thrust. Then she felt it and she yelled out.

Skulduggery removed himself and held her close as she tried to calm her heavy breathing. She realized her whole body was covered in sweat and she shivered, hugging Skulduggery closer to her. She relaxed her grip on his back.

"Sorry about your back," she whispered, a small blush beginning to creep across her flushed cheeks. He moved a piece of hair that was plastered to her face, tucking it behind her ear.

"Don't worry about it," he said and gently kissed her. Valkyrie stroked his cheek and shivered again. Skulduggery pulled back the covers and laid down next to her, pulling the covers back over them.

Valkyrie laid her head comfortably on his chest, softly rubbing a hand up and down it while he ran his hand across her bare back.

"I love you Skulduggery," she mumbled into his chest.

"I love you too Valkyrie," he muttered into her hair, kissing the top of her head. Valkyrie could feel her eyelids getting heavy.

'This trip wasn't so bad after all,' she thought as she drifted off to sleep in Skulduggery's arms.


	12. Chapter 12: Uh oh

Here it is...the last chapter...*sniffle*

* * *

Valkyrie stood outside, facing to the mansion as Skulduggery dragged their suitcases past her and loaded them on the waiting trolley. He then started up a conversation with the carriage driver. Valkyrie breathed in the mid-morning air and sighed. She was going to miss this place: the beauty, the sights, the smells, the memories…

She smiled. 'Definitely the memories,' she thought as she recollected the events of last night and this morning. She awoke to find an empty spot next to her and single red rose in her hand. She had slipped her underwear on and crammed into Skulduggery's shirt just as he walked out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his waist and drying his hair with another. She knocked him into the wall when she ran and hugged him.

She thought the people in the neighboring room must have had enough of their ruckus by now. She had questioned him about the shower and he said that he just missed the feeling of the hot water on his skin. Then she decided that a hot shower sounded nice, seeing as how she didn't even get her bath in from the day before.

She had handed him back the rose as she headed into the bathroom, but not before snatching the towel from around his waist and slamming the bathroom door in his face before he could catch her. He then proceeded to ruin her hot shower by dumping a pitcher of cold water over the shower curtain onto her head. Needless to say, the bathroom ended up, yet again, soaked.

Skulduggery waved the driver on and walked over to Valkyrie.

"Our carriage will be here soon. Are you ready to go?" he asked. She sighed.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said. She turned to face him.

"Do you think we'll ever come back?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Probably," he said, "You know, they do a lot of weddings up here." Valkyrie raised an eyebrow at him.

"What's that supposed to mean, Pleasant?" she asked, a smirk playing at the corner of her mouth. He shrugged again.

"Merely stating the facts," he replied smugly. Valkyrie rolled her eyes.

"You're such a goon," she muttered, turning her attention back toward the mansion. Skulduggery chuckled and leaned in closer to her.

"Be that as it may," he whispered in her ear, "I know for a fact that you still love me." Valkyrie snorted.

"What was your first clue detective: the endless loving bickering or the not-so-heated passion filled night?" Skulduggery smiled and shook his head, cupping her cheek with his hand, bringing her to face him.

"Neither," he said softly, "The fact that you said no matter what, you would still love me." Valkyrie felt the blush creep across her face.

"Why do you have to be so damn romantic?" she muttered as she tried to glare at him. She failed miserably.

"Because I am amazing like that," he replied. He then leaned down and kissed her. Valkyrie smiled against his lips as she slid her arms around his neck. She broke away as she heard the carriage clamber up the path.

Skulduggery gave a quick kiss on her lips before walking down to meet the carriage. Valkyrie shook her head. Less than twenty-four hours ago, they had been standing here biting each others heads off. Now here they stood in each others arms, in constant lip lock.

A sudden breeze lapped across her face, tossing her hair around. She could detect the faint smell of apples as it whipped past her nose.

"Thanks Abigail," she breathed, the wind carrying her words through the endless maze of trees.

"Ready?" called Skulduggery. Valkyrie nodded and walked over to him. As she got closer, she noticed the driver of the carriage was the same driver that brought them here.

"Guess what?" Skulduggery asked when she stopped next to him, "The driver said he was able to get the horses up the main road." Valkyrie smiled.

"I guess that means the danger is completely gone then," she said. He nodded.

"I think you're right." He stopped her as she started to climb into the carriage.

"I believe this is yours," he said, handing her sketchbook to her.

"How did you get it?" she asked as she took it from him. She honestly thought she would never see it again.

"I saw it on the ground when I went with the Sanctuary members to go pick up Clarabelle's body," he said, "And might I add, you are quite talented, if I do say so myself." Valkyrie leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"Thanks," she whispered and then climbed up into the carriage. Skulduggery climbed in behind her. He draped an arm over her shoulders and she rested her head his shoulder. She took one last fleeting look at the mansion as the driver clicked the horses on.

She felt funny, like something was different. At first she thought it was her brain finally realizing that she had lost her virginity to not only her partner, but her dead partner, but felt that it was more then that. She thought about it and then froze in realization at her mistake of not asking Skulduggery one simple question before their night together. She gently slid a hand over her stomach.

'Uh oh…'


End file.
